


Just this night

by NyeLung



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: F/M, Kliff travels with Celica, Other pairings in the background - Freeform, Slight Canon Divergence, this was supposed to be fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28169862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyeLung/pseuds/NyeLung
Summary: It's just one short night in the Sage's Hamlet where they can pretend that the war is already over and everything is good.An AU where Kliff joined Celica's army instead of Alm's.
Relationships: Anthiese | Celica/Kliff
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7
Collections: Fire Emblem Christmas Rare Pair Exchange 2020





	Just this night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dornishsphinx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dornishsphinx/gifts).



> I must admit that I wrote most of this from my memory of SoV and I hope I didn't butcher too much of the timeline or the background characters. I hope you enjoy this gift <3

# Just this night

It was a good night, Kliff decided. The Sage's Hamlet was a safe place and there were no clouds to hide the star sprinkled sky. Most of all, though, it was a good night, because it had finally gone quiet. Valbar had been the first to leave the comfort of their fire. His snoring had stopped once Leon and Kamui had followed – Kliff wasn't as naive to not know what that meant. By the shade of red that Genny had turned when she saw that, she was well aware of that, too. Then Sonya had taken over in one of her rare motherly moods and ushered Genny to bed herself.

Soon after, Est had started yawning, too – and Kliff was yawning right alongside her but he still wanted to enjoy some peace and quiet once everyone else was settled in so he forced himself to stay awake – so she left with her sisters Palla and Catria to look after the Pegasi one more time which had prompted Jesse to follow them. 

Saber and Atlas... he hadn't seen them but from what Kliff had been able to observe, he'd bet good money that Saber was raiding some wine stash and Atlas... no. He had no idea what Atlas was up to. Fact was that once Mae and Boey finally turned in to sleep and their bickering stopped short after – they reminded him a lot of Gray and Tobin in that aspect – it was finally quiet apart from the occasional snore from Valbar and the crackling of the last flames in the fireplace.

Kliff leaned back and back until he fell into the grass. It wasn't cold in the Sage's Hamlet, so it was even quite comfortable to just lie on the ground and look up into the vast openness of the sky. Scholars, he knew, had named constellations but he preferred to make up his own. There was Mae's pigtails, a pegasus' wings, Celica's diadem... her smile... Kliff let out a sigh. He wasn't naive enough to not know what that meant either.

"Do you regret it?"

Kliff flinched violently when there was suddenly also Celica's voice. A quiet curse left his lips as he realized that she was real. Mila's mercy, please don't let her know his thoughts just now. "Regret what?"

"Coming with me." Celica laughed quietly and the bitter note in it just made the rest of her voice sound all the sweeter to Kliff. "Pirates, Necrodragons and the Duma Faithful are probably not what you thought we would meet." Kliff mulled that over. There was a certain truth to those words. "Nor that I am the princess of Zofia."

Right. There was that.

"No", Kliff tried to put a hint of a joke in his voice as he answered, "I did not expect Celica, our playmate, to be the princess of Zofia. But... I knew that something was up even back then. I liked to think-" He stopped himself before he could say anything deathly embarrassing.

Celica, for all her mercies, did not get the hint, rather, she didn't want to get the hint if the months they'd been travelling together were anything to go by. "You liked to think what?"

Kliff prayed to Mila that she would come out of hiding to strike him down right about now to save him from this conversation. Nothing happened. The night stayed as quiet as it had been since Mae and Boey stopped bickering, the stars twinkled in the distance and the last embers of their fire crackled as Celica waited for his answer. "That you really were a princess", he mumbled into his sleeves that hid his hands from the slowly creeping night chill. "That you were a princess and Sir Mycen had to carry you to a safe, far-away location and one day I would go and get you back to us. We all thought that. Well, maybe not Faye. And then it became more and more Alm's thing and I just... I thought I'd better start practising my magic."

Celica giggled. "So that scorch mark on Sir Mycen's house was your doing?"

Oh Mila, please don't let him blush. Except, he did and since he was still pale – even after travelling for months with Celica – it was visible even at night. He just knew. "Yes... I wanted to... I wanted to learn how to make fireworks but it failed. Miserably." Kliff cleared his throat. "And now you're really a princess and Sir Mycen did carry you away to a safe location and all this is so weird, so can we please stop? I mean, you're going to marry Alm at some point, aren't you?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Celica blinked in confusion. "Also, why would I marry Alm?"

Kliff shrugged. "Isn't it always like that? You were a heart and a soul back then and now he's the hero and you're the princess, so..."

"It's not that easy." Celica evaded his gaze. Her hand, the one with that strange mark he remembered from childhood days, was clenched to a fist. "We are connected. I don't know how but it's there and I like Alm, I do, but he's also-" She huffed an angry breath. "He's a stubborn, pigheaded, ignorant fool. I mean... he's got a big heart, right? And he's caring and sweet and I'm pretty sure that he still loves me despite everything I said at the castle but... I never really grew up as the princess, you know. I just grew up in a place that should have been home but felt so empty and all I ever wanted was to get away from there."

"It's complicated?", Kliff asked with that hint of levity that might still save this whole conversation from becoming more of a wreck than it already was.

Celica heaved a sigh far too heavy for this good night. "Yes, it is. Maybe I just don't want to... maybe I don't want to go back. It's my duty. I'm the princess. I should. But... I'm afraid. I don't want to be trapped there again..."

Internally, Kliff let out the world's longest held breath. Oh Mila, he'd bitten off more than he can chew, had he? "You know... when all this is over, I'm going to go back to Ram village. I'll pack some more things, give some of whatever treasure we may find to Gray's and Tobin's families and tell my mother that I'm leaving. And then I will leave." Kliff breathed in deeply. He hadn't really been sure about this plan until he'd spoken it out loud just now. "I want to travel. I want to see the world not by running from necrodragons, skeletons, gargoyles, Duma Faithful or pirates. You remember my mother, do you? She's gotten worse in the years since you left and, in a way, I want to be free of that, too."

A nod. "I remember her." Celica fell into the grass next to him. "Hey, can we play pretend again like we used to?"

Kliff sat up halfway. "You remember that? That was one time. Maybe twice."

There was that apologetic smile again that he had gotten used to since starting to travel with Celica. She'd look at all of them like that whenever they got into trouble because of their connection to Celica. Kliff really didn't mind. "You were my first friends. Of course, I remember."

Somehow Kliff was starting to hate the idea of Celica being a princess. Not because it meant that her standing was so far above him, but because it meant that she grew up mostly alone, in danger and was now tied up in a war fast reaching its peak. "What do we want to pretend then?"

It could have been just one turn of Mila's wheel or a thousand before Celica spoke again. Kliff didn't mind. Lying in the soft grass under the starry sky with her was the most comfortable he'd been in months.

"Let's pretend the war is over", Celica said. "Let's pretend the Earth mother is safe and back, the Duma Faithful have been stopped and Rigel has negotiated peace with Zofia. Let's pretend that we're here to rest before making the long journey back."

Kliff hummed, eyes closed to better imagine that. "I'd like that. Lie in the grass with you after everything is done and Valentia is saved."

"Yes, it's nice."

He stole a glance to see that Celica had her eyes closed now, too. There was the hint of a smile on her lips. She looked more relaxed than ever. Even when they had been children, there had been a wariness about her.

"Where do you want to travel first?", her voice ripped him from his musings.

There had been a richly decorated map of the continents in Sir Mycen's home. Kliff had stared at it whenever they had been schooled by the old general. "Away from Valentia", he said. "Maybe I'll join Palla, Catria and Est when they return to their home. Macedon is supposed to have the best Wyvern riders. Have you ever seen a wyvern?"

A rustling of grass. "No, but I've seen pictures of them. When I was very young, I wanted to ride one but then I was told that they have left Valentia and have yet to return."

"Do you think they'll let me ride one?"

"Palla is the best friend of the Macedonian queen, isn't she? I'm sure they can arrange something." Celica grinned in a way that was audible in her voice and implied very well that Palla and the Macedonian queen were more than friends. "And after the wyverns?"

"I'd follow the sun. Find a ship that takes me across the sea and find out what is there." Kliff sighed. He could almost smell the sea breeze, hear the wind in the sails, the creaks of the masts and rigging. There was something about the planks beneath his feet rocking with the waves that made him feel whole and well. "Do you remember the legends Sir Mycen told us? Of countries in eternal darkness and countries of plenty where warriors use one-edged blades..."

"...of deserts and rolling white dunes and towers to guard sacred stones..."

"... and of the wide plains and the isles of mist..."

"... and those people with wings that soared with the herons and ravens and hawks..." Kliff turned to her when Celica didn't continue. "Hey, are you alright?"

Celica sniffed. "No. No, I'm not. I... I miss him. I miss Ram village and those days." A hiccup. "I wished I- Do you still remember that legend that always made me cry? Of the lady of the forest?"

Oh, how Kliff remembered. Celica had cried every single time it was told and Kliff hadn't understood, although he'd wondered why. Sir Mycen wasn't the best storyteller, after all. Now... he had an inkling. "But you're not cursed like her", Kliff protested. "You're... I mean. You aren't, are you?"

"You should go to sleep as well", they were interrupted by Sonya who came from somewhere behind in the dark, walked past them and vanished into the dark beneath the dying fire's light circle. Kliff could swear that he heard her mumble about children not knowing what's good for them but he decided to ignore that.

Celica ignored Sonya just like he did. She also didn't answer his question and Kliff didn't dare ask it again.

"Do-", he asked at the same time that she did. "You first."

"No." Celica blushed deeply enough that Kliff could see it even in the creeping darkness that was slowly eating away at their light circle. "You first."

Kliff shrugged. No use discussing this, right? "Do you want me to write you letters from my travels? I could... I could draw the wyverns and all I see for you?" Oh Mila, that sounded stupid.

To his relief, Celica laughed that small giggle. "Are we still playing pretend? Then I don't want you to write me letters. I want you to take me with you on your travels."

"Our travels", Kliff corrected. "When you come with me, then those are our travels."

Now Celica laughed more openly. "You're right. Our travels. We're still pretending that the war is over... so then I'd go to Alm and tell him that I won't be his queen. Maybe in a different world where we would have been different people but I... I did my duty and... I have been chained by fate and expectations long enough, so that now I want to go and be free. And Alm would nod and he would bid us farewell. He'd find another queen and we would go with just a few of our things and just... we'd follow the sun over the waves and beneath the starry sky."

"And we'd still write letters and draw what we see and we send them all to Genny who will write about our travels in her books because Zofia will be safe and well once Mother Mila returns."

Celica sat up next to him. "Yes... Yes, we should do that. We'd stand on a ship towards new shores with the wind in our back and the sun sinking beneath the waves in the distance and then we-" She blushed up to the tips of her ears. "I think I would kiss you then."

Alright, now Kliff was blushing, too, and he was sure that he was also red up to the tips of his ears – thankfully hidden beneath his hair. "You would?", he very much did not squeak.

"I would." Celica's eyes were softer than the grass beneath them, softer than softest blanket. "I wouldn't be a princess, I wouldn't be bound to Mila nor Alm. I would just be your friend Celica who's going to travel with you and see the world. We would be free to leave and... there's no one I'd rather leave with."

Kliff wasn't sure what to feel. Panic? A good amount of panic because these kind of things didn't happen outside of stories. He was waiting to wake up now but he didn't. "We're not- We're not pretending any longer, are we?"

"No." Celica smiled sadly which Kliff didn't understand at all but he couldn't ask her why. He knew, he just knew that the answer would destroy their little safe haven and that would destroy Celica. "And yes. Kliff, can we pretend for a moment longer? Close our eyes and just imagine the sea, the gulls and the wind?"

There was such a desperate inflection to her voice that Kliff couldn't say no. For a moment, he allowed himself to be on a ship headed for faraway shores, allowed himself to smell salt and seaweed and hear the gulls crying out above them.

Celica's lips on his own were chapped from months on the road in often enough terrible weather and long enough sea passages. They were cold from a fear that had crept up on them in the darkness as the last embers of the fire died.

Just like a wave, Celica was there and then she was gone and Kliff was alone. As long as they were pretending, they could indulge in those growing affections. Now the game of pretend was over and reality crashed back in. They were at war. This Sage's Hamlet was only a short respite. And Celica was still a princess bound to his best friend Alm by some fate or other.

There was nothing Kliff could do.

Sonya walked past him again, a stumbling, drunk Saber in tow. One of her eyebrows rose, then she just made "ah" and left.

In the stories and legends, Kliff thought, this was the moment that the hero about to marry the princess would feel absolutely miserable. He could relate. Just, unlike the hero, he would not slay the dark demon, nor marry the princess in the end, would he?

It was a good day, Celica decided. The war was over, everyone dear to her had survived, no one had asked her yet about princess matters but most of all, Kliff had woken up.

"Hey", she said. "The war is over."

Kliff blinked blearily at her. "Is this still a game of pretend?"

"No." Her voice broke, torn between laughing and crying from happiness. "No, we're not pretending. The war is over and we survived."

A frown darted over his forehead. "Didn't you... Didn't Alm...? It's all very blurry but... please don't do that again? I'm not sure what that was because... urgh. My head hurts."

"You got hit bad in the fight against Duma. You're lucky that there are some dedicated healers in our company."

Kliff's frown deepened. "Did I rush in to save you from a big, rotting dragon?"

"Yes, yes you did." Now she was crying but she also couldn't stop smiling. "Never do that again and I promise never to fall for the tricks of dark mages again."

"Sounds good." Kliff relaxed, eyes falling closed. "Are you free then?"

She looked down to the brand on her hand, the mark of her fate. It hadn't vanished, of course it hadn't. It was in her blood but... "Yes, I think I am. I did my duty."

"So, like in our game of pretend?" Kliff yawned, already exhausted from waking up after such a complicated injury.

"Just like in our game. I still have to talk with Alm but... if you'll have me, can I travel with you?"

Kliff was already mumbling through the first onslaught of sleep, when he answered. "Only if you help with the drawings... I can't draw well."

"Neither can I", Celica whispered as she tucked Kliff back under the blanket, "but we're both free to learn now." She leaned forward to kiss the sleeping Kliff on the lips. They were chapped from long months on the road, too many sea passages and this time of healing. But they were warm and just right for her. "We don't have to play pretend any longer. We're free." She laughed quietly. "We're free."

**Author's Note:**

> Well, short and fluffy, I guess. I mean, they are still kids. Thrown into a war and most likely deeply traumatized kids, but they're still kids. There's possibly a whole story of super epic proportions in here that could be told - and I am tempted but I really don't have the time - and if anyone wants to run with this premise, please hit me up to let me read it then <3  
> Background pairs: Valbar/Leon/Kamui, Palla/Minerva, Mae/Boey ... I blame all my friends for filling my head with headcanons about these.  
> I'm not sure if the motherly Sonya came from somewhere else but I can kinda see her like that once she thaws a little. Anyway, Sonya taking Genny under her wing is <3  
> We don't really have much info about the characters when they were smol kids, so I extrapolated here and there. I mean, Celica seemed to mostly play with Alm but, let's be real, you have a bunch of kids in one place with no one else to turn to, they most likely play as a bigger group.  
> Since a lot of the endgame hasn't happened in the Sage's Hamlet (iirc), Celica is still rather cross with Alm about what he said at their reunion. I don't recall the exact stuff he said and she shouted back but I know that it didn't go well. So. Celica is still at least a bit angry although she's also halfway forgiven him.  
> Those legends Sir Mycen told are unabashed hints at the other games of the series^^ In order: Fates, Sacred Stones, Blazing/Binding Blade, Tellius  
> And the lady of the forest? Is of course Deirdre from Genealogy. I think, Celica, who's been bound by blood, duty and fate to that path of hers would relate a lot to Deirdre's tragedy. Does she consider herself cursed? Maybe a little bit. I mean, at this point Jedha has already made her that offer of "come with me and I'll let the rest live etc", right? If not, then in this fic at least he already did. That's at least why she's so sad and also desperate and really wants to kiss Kliff because at this point Celica thinks that she'll die for her blood, duty and fate.  
> Imagine her surprise when she finds out that she survives^^  
> I'd be sorry for the time skip but, really, writing all the things that come between the Hamlet and the end would take up too much of my currently sparse free time. Once again: if someone else wants to run wild with this premise, feel free (and hit me up so I can read it)  
> What I think happened was the whole Celica gives herself up to Jedha, Jedha teleports the rest of the company into those catacombs (does Berkut go down the dark route and drags Rinea with him? I like to think he doesn't here), they fight, fight more, have that part where Celica is stabbed by Alm and restored by Mila, fight more and face Duma where in the end Celica and Alm do the last stuff but Duma in his death throes lashes out at Celica where Kliff rushes in and throws himself between her and Duma.  
> And now Celica is riding on that high of everyone surviving and her being free. Will they set sail? I like to think so. Alm will become King and marry, I don't know, Silque. Clair? no idea. I'd have to read up on most of the characters again. Berkut could be steward of Rigel, while Celica and Kliff travel with the pegasus sisters and a certain masked Knight to Archanea and then further and further.  
> Now excuse me, I have feels for this pair, I didn't think about before this exchange.


End file.
